British businesses are talking the talk when it comes to environmental issues, but are not converting talk into action, according to new research unveiled by managed hosting and data centre operator iomart. 

The results of the first annual environmental IT survey were revealed by iomart and Green IT magazine at a seminar held at Emirate Stadium in North London in December. A total of 3,102 IT managers and directors were asked for their views on the green agenda and their own companies’ responses to it.

And while 90 per cent of those questioned said the environment was important or very important to their operations, nearly two-thirds (62 per cent) admitted their organizations didn’t have any kind of green policy. 

In a climate where every penny counts, the IT professionals surveyed recognized energy efficiencies also mean cost savings.

Two-thirds (66 per cent) said they believed the IT department could save the company money while improving its green performance. 

Yet a staggering 95 per cent admitted they had never seen or were not responsible for the company’s utility bills, with the result that they would be unable to analyze where the IT department could contribute to energy efficiency measures. 

Tellingly, relatively few IT professionals were aware of related green organizations — when given a choice of recognized environmental organizations, most (62 per cent) named pressure group Greenpeace. About 16 per cent had not heard of any environmental organizations, and just 15 per cent could identify Green Grid, the technology-focused green energy consortium. The Computer Savers Alliance was recognized by five per cent of respondents. 



Angus McSween, CEO of iomart, said: "There seems to be a real contradiction within the IT industry. Most IT managers and directors say they are concerned about the environment but very few have taken the time to formulate a green policy or scrutinize where technology costs figure on their company’s electricity bills.

"It is a dilemma we as an industry have to address, and soon, but we have to take responsibility for our own energy use if anything is going to change."

The survey, carried out by Green IT during October this year, revealed other contradictions, too. It showed that, despite IT professionals’ contention that the environment is a priority, cost is five times more important than the environment when it comes to buying IT equipment. Around 46 per cent first take spend into account when purchasing new equipment over just eight per cent who would prioritize environmental impact. 



But the research also revealed a feeling among businesses that hardware manufacturers were not doing enough to support businesses’ green ambitions. 

Two-thirds (66 per cent) said manufacturers did not supply enough in the way of green products — even more (72 per cent) said they felt they were being mislead by manufacturers over the environmental benefits offered by certain technology. 



The full results of the survey will appear in the next edition of Green IT Magazine published in February 2009.

A summary of the results can be downloaded from the iomart website, here.

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